Sfmg LLC Raises Stake in BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK)

Sfmg LLC lifted its position in shares of BlackRock, Inc. (NYSE:BLK) by 2.1% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,964 shares of the asset manager’s stock after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the quarter. Sfmg LLC’s holdings in BlackRock were worth $3,908,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of BLK. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in BlackRock during the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Pineridge Advisors LLC acquired a new position in BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Fairscale Capital LLC acquired a new position in BlackRock during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Lam Group Inc. acquired a new position in BlackRock during the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Fairman Group LLC acquired a new position in BlackRock during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.69% of the company’s stock.

BlackRock Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE:BLK opened at $941.23 on Wednesday. BlackRock, Inc. has a 1 year low of $596.18 and a 1 year high of $942.73. The stock has a market cap of $139.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.92, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.30. The business has a fifty day moving average of $872.80 and a 200-day moving average of $819.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 5.06 and a current ratio of 5.06.

BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 15th. The asset manager reported $10.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.96 by $0.40. BlackRock had a return on equity of 15.44% and a net margin of 32.36%. The company had revenue of $4.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.85 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $9.28 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that BlackRock, Inc. will post 41.34 earnings per share for the current year.

BlackRock Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 23rd. Investors of record on Monday, September 9th were paid a dividend of $5.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 9th. This represents a $20.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.17%. BlackRock’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.84%.

Insider Activity at BlackRock

In related news, Director Mark Wiedman sold 27,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $834.42, for a total transaction of $22,529,340.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 6,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,407,041.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, Director Mark Wiedman sold 27,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $834.42, for a total transaction of $22,529,340.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 6,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,407,041.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Laurence Fink sold 29,450 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $843.25, for a total value of $24,833,712.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 353,718 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $298,272,703.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 93,042 shares of company stock valued at $79,387,117 over the last 90 days. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BLK has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Argus upped their target price on BlackRock from $880.00 to $910.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. TD Cowen cut their target price on BlackRock from $974.00 to $969.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on BlackRock from $912.00 to $937.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on BlackRock from $1,025.00 to $1,013.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on BlackRock from $915.00 to $934.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, BlackRock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $902.13.

About BlackRock

BlackRock, Inc is a publicly owned investment manager. The firm primarily provides its services to institutional, intermediary, and individual investors including corporate, public, union, and industry pension plans, insurance companies, third-party mutual funds, endowments, public institutions, governments, foundations, charities, sovereign wealth funds, corporations, official institutions, and banks.